Living Paradigms is a series about what we can learn from the customs and cultural practices of others when it comes to solving problems. It is sponsored by Wonderstruck.
We often live in ways that give rise to problems, then implement fixes to solve them. What if instead, we lived in ways that didn’t create those problems in the first place?
That’s what our newest series Living Paradigms is all about. Instead of focusing on solutions in the conventional sense –– in which we identify a problem and then invent ways to solve it –– these stories will explore the cultural practices, customs and traditions of communities and societies around the world, both past and present, to see how their ways of life solve problems organically.
Take the Mediterranean diet as one familiar example. Practiced for ages by communities from that region, this diet of fish, grains, and fresh fruits and vegetables helps prevent common ailments like heart disease and high cholesterol. The peoples of the Mediterranean region didn’t adopt this diet as a way to solve these health problems –– it’s simply their way of life, and it happens to make them healthier.
This is a cultural practice we can learn from. And there are many more, in every corner of the world.
We’ve reported on these types of stories before. In Rwanda, we examined how a monthly ritual of community-minded selflessness has helped build schools, hospitals and infrastructure all across that country. In Mexico, we’ve waded through flourishing “man-made island farms” that float upon lakes, an ancient engineering wonder that could provide a sustainable food source amid modern-day drought. And in the Congo Basin, we’ve visited community-owned forests, where conservation of the landscape’s resources naturally flows from collective ownership, which has been practiced by Indigenous peoples there for centuries.
Not all of these ways of life are transferable –– what works for one culture won’t automatically work for another. But by examining the practices of others with curiosity and an open mind, we can shift the prism through which we view our own problems — and imagine a richer, more sustainable way of living.
